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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. firm — steady
  4. land — to come down
  5. band — a music group
  6. bark — to shout
  7. land — ground
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ball — a dance
  12. branch — a division
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. firm — a company
  15. ball — a great time
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. firm — decided
  18. land — a country
  19. degree — from a university
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. band — a ring
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com